Strathmore Who's Who run by Jack Pizzo is a scam.


The other day I got a letter in the mail from Strathmore's Who's Who, which I'd never really heard of except the "Who's Who" part of the title. I thought, what the heck, my name for free in a book, why not? Even if it's not that big of deal, meaning no one really looks at it, it can't really hurt. I googled it quickly, read about 2 seconds of stuff on their website, then filled out the card and sent it in forgetting quickly.

Today I got a call from a representative there, Deb. She (I think) said that they got my "application" and they need to do an interview to see if I'm eligible, but from what they saw on the "application", she was pretty sure I'd be accepted. Huh, on that single piece of paper all I put was what I did, software engineer, and where I worked, Mentor Graphics... That makes me almost eligible? Anyway, she said it would take about 7 or 8 minutes, fastest interview ever. She basically asked what I did everyday and what my achievements were, then repeated different things I said with an "I understand" afterwards. It was pretty funny honestly, she really sounded interested and impressed with my normal job, which made me feel great, but curious as to why I'd be included in such a "prestigious" book.

After about 5 minutes of talking, she said that I'm in! WhooHoo! Then said I had the choice between a lifetime or 5 year membership, which cost $600 and $300 respectively... Whoa. There was no mention in the letter of a fee or anything, and I'm not about to shell out $600 for my name in a book I've never heard of. So, I asked if I had time to think about it, meaning I want to get out of this politely and easily, and she said, no, there are too many applications, you need to decide now. That made me laugh, oh, it's really a scam, OK, all fears confirmed. I then asked again, "Are you serious, I have to choose now and if I don't I'm out?" She then said something else about how it's not impossible, but that it's better if I figure it out now. She gave me more options, a 2 year membership for $200 with no book sent to me, but I still get the plaque, and a 1 year membership with no book or plaque for $100... I said I'll need to discuss this with my wife, it's a purchase over $50, which was a great excuse for me to really google about this place. She said fine, she'll call back tomorrow (very disappointed) and we'll go over it again and gave me her phone number then hung up.